Jackiem Joyner – Lil’ Man Soul
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This very special sax player came with the best that he could offer in his 2nd album “Lil’ Man Soul” from Mack Ave Records. 28 year old Jackiem Joyner still gives the fans what they come to expect from him – Down to earth Urban soul mixed instrumentals with smooth & modern jazz flavors scattered throughout the offering. Some a little mid tempo, some love ballads, & some hard grooving stuff. Jackiem Joyner came to play & have some fun. I liked this one better than the BabySoul project from 2007.
Track Listing:
~ Take Me There
~ Lost Without You
~ J Street
~ Where’s The Love Gone
~ Lil’ Man Soul
~ Step With Me
~ Let Me Love You
~ I’m Waiting For You
~ Say I Do
~ When The Time Is Right
~ Round The World
~ When We Come Together
The opener “Take Me There” snaps into the beat & easily flows into a gentle groove, laying out the platform for Jackiem to come inside & stretch the sax marquee a little bit.; A cover of “Lost Without You” was typical, although rather soothing in comparison to the last track.; The funk that was meant to come finally arrived for “J Street” – a much edgier, hard bumpin’ song, It does slow down, however, when “Where’s The Love Gone” creeps into the picture.
Next, The title track, “Lil’ Man Soul” settles into the mix with a romantic overtone, while everything picks back up, exclusively for the Chicago & Abroad Steppers out there, still steppin’ to Jackiem’s “Step With Me”.; Mr. Joyner revisits a hit single by urban R&B singer Mario in “Let Me Love You”, where I was 50/50 in considering if Jackiem outdid the original. That was a hard decision to make.
“I’m Waiting For You” explores the outer regions of his horn & the slow jam dept receives another dose of love in “Say I Do”. Big Jazz producer Paul Brown slides into play with the hip jammin’ “When The Time Is Right”. This song had a nice melody & sticky harmonies that may leave you hooked from beginning to end.
The overall album was grand. A nice stand for Mr. Jackiem Joyner, especially since this being only his 2nd offering. Having toured with names like bassist Wayman Tisdale, saxophonist Gerald Albright, & Piano Supreme Joe Sample, plus many others, can have an everlasting influential effect on his stage & horn prowess. I hope he continues down the right path. This Cd is recommended.
Terrill Hanna
The Urban Music Scene